City of Calama

Calama

22°28'29"S, 68°55'6"WElevation: 2268m (7441 ft)

The City of Calama is just south of the mega-copper mine Chuquicamata and primarily serves as a bedroom community for the workers and their families. This is the prime copper producing province in the world mainly due to the hyper arid environment. (Reich et al, 2009)

Geology:

From Antofagasta to Calama runs the Antofagasta–Calama Lineament (ACL), a series of Northeast trending strike slip faults which is thought to have controlled the emplacement of the extensive porphyry copper deposits. (Palacios et al, 2007) The town has consequently had its share of earthquakes including a 7.8 in 2005. (The town was also completely destroyed in 1870 by an earthquake!)

The stratigraphic succession in the Calama Basin (from Moreno and Gibbons, 2007)